


Black Heart

by Dawnlightsilhouette



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Centaurs, Elves, F/F, F/M, Fictional World, Found Family, Friendship, Gay Characters, M/M, Magic, Minor Character Deaths, Necromancy, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Selkies, Trans Characters, Vampires, Werewolves, Witchcraft, depictions of violence, overpowered main character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:15:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26061028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnlightsilhouette/pseuds/Dawnlightsilhouette
Summary: Rowena 'Black Heart' Hollow was originally supposed to inherit her grandfather's throne but she leaves it to her cousin and decides to wander around the world and learn new things. She adopts vampires, makes friends with werewolves, elves, centaurs and humans and in between visits her cousin every now and again. Then however she does end up being a Queen anyway, though its a different kingdom she rules over.
Relationships: Arthur Akeela/Thomas Courtney, Ligeia Hollow/Isaya, Morag Grant/George Grant, Ryn/Shira, Tacarra/Angus Grant
Kudos: 10





	1. prologue - the prophecy

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at my first original work.

The full moon shone brightly down on the castle and bathed it in silver light that shimmered on the walls and made the pond in the castle garden glitter. Cassandra watched the spectacle from her lounge chair on the large balcony outside her room. She was completely absorbed in the beautiful sight of the silent night scenery and did not look up when she heard her brother's footsteps approaching behind her. Gwen stopped next to her and handed her a scarf. "What a night. And look, the roses are blooming.", he said and nodded into the direction of the rose tendrils that snaked up the railing of the balcony. Suddenly Cassandra grabbed Gwen's hand fast as a lightning. He looked down at her with surprise and found that his sister's gaze was fixed on the roses. She seemed to be deep in thoughts, her eyes were wide open and there was an absent look in them. "A shadow will fall over the no man's land.", she whispered in a husky voice. Gwen squeezed her hand and knelt down beside her. He had heard his sister make prophecies before and was excited to hear what she would say now. “The outcasts will gather around her and rejoice in the land in which a black heart beats. The most powerful queen who shares blood with our dynasty will command dead armies and put an end to the white elf, she will lead vampires and tame werewolves. The Queen of Blood and Roses will come here in a few years.", Cassandra whispered and relaxed again. She blinked in confusion and rubbed her temple with her free hand. "What does that mean?", she asked Gwen. Gwen gulped and took a deep breath. He didn't want to admit in front of his sister how much her words unsettled him. "I don't know.", he answered truthfully and let his gaze wander to the roses. Far away on the border of the country, the niece of the two was born at the same moment.


	2. Rowena meets her family

The rain fell steadily from the grey sky from early morning on, making a relaxing sound of flowing water. Towards the afternoon the soft drizzle increased more and more. The carriage that rumbled towards the castle seemed to bring the thunderstorm with it and when it stopped in front of the stairs to the big gate and the girl got out, the first lightning flashed across the sky. The creaking of the gates mixed with the thunder and for a moment it was not possible to notice that the girl was making no sound as she nervously walked down the corridor to the throne room. Despite the weather, she had arrived punctually, the king was holding court. The throne room was filled with nobles and knights, servants who stayed close by the walls and the king's guards who had spread out in the vicinity of their king. The girl looked around attentively as she made her way through the many people who did not notice her. The people wore fine silk robes or at least light linen, suitable for the warm summer weather. If they had registered the thunderstorm outside at all, they didn't care, inside behind the thick walls they couldn't even hear it. The throne room was the largest room in the whole castle, the whole house in which the girl grew up would have fit into it. On the ceiling there were colorful paintings depicting heroic legends, while the paintings on the walls showed the ancestors of the king, who sat on the throne in the center of the room, legs spread and in a bad mood as usual. 

King Richard Hollow was getting on in years, but he still looked healthy and strong. His hair and beard were short and by now more gray than blonde, but his eyes flashed watchful and gray as ever between the crow's feet and dark circles around them. He was tall and seemed even taller thanks to the golden crown that was emblazoned on his head and matched with the golden ornaments of his dark red velvet jerkin. His hands had gripped the armrests of the throne as if to tear them off. The girl stared at him from under her hood, unable to prevent her doubts about who he was. She had heard that he had buried his pathetic little bit of friendliness with his late wife before she herself was even born, but this man's charisma still exceeded her imagination. She would have loved to just leave again. Nobody had noticed her anyway, it would be easy to just leave the room and, if necessary, go home on foot. She knew she would find the way, even though she had never been this far from home. She just always found her way home. The only question was how much it would feel like home. Her father wouldn't give her a warm welcome, he had sent her here after all. So the girl stayed where she was and tried to convince herself that Richard might not be as bad as he looked and waited as one by one of the supplicants stepped up in line to talk to the King about some matter or another. 

Finally the time had come. The Herald announced loudly that this was the last opportunity to bring a matter to the king before the court closed for today. So the girl stepped forward. The Herald almost didn't notice her. He had already started sending the people away, but spotted her just in time. Noiseless and half buried in the long, black coat as she was, she looked like a shadow. Quite a small shadow. At first most people were a little confused because the Herald stayed silent, but then when the girl stopped directly in front of the four steps that led to the throne, they finally noticed her. They stared in irritation at the child who stopped in front of the king with a linen sack in her arms and in a coat that was actually intended for adults. She was a little wet and so petite that she looked even younger than she was. Unsettled glances were exchanged while the girl stuck her hand in her luggage and rummaged in it instead of falling down onto her knees in front of the king and presenting her request. Soft whispers gradually rose and one wondered if she had gotten lost, how she had come in here. The king was about to say something himself when the girl found what she was looking for. She dropped the sack onto the floor, walked up the steps, the coat dragging across the floor behind her like a cloak, and held out a leather cylinder of the type used to hold scrolls to Richard. "Hello. I'm Rowena Hollow.”, said the girl. 

There was such a silence in the room that one could have heard a pin drop. Richard frowned at the girl and took the scroll from her. "Stand there.", he hissed at her and nodded to the spot at the foot of the steps. Rowena Hollow turned on her heel and stepped away from Richard's throne. As she went down the stairs, she pushed back her hood. A raven-black mane of long hair spilled out from underneath, framing a pretty, heart-shaped face, the skin of which was so white it was almost the color of fresh snow. But what irritated people the most was her eyes. Her left eye was as storm gray as the rest of the Hollow family had, but her right eye was a strong green, like an emerald. Rowena let her gaze wander over the many people, some of whom were staring at her in amazement and sometimes even in dismay. It seemed like an infinite amount of people. They caused her an impressive level of discomfort. Rowena suppressed the urge to put the hood back on and turned her back on them instead. She turned back to Richard, who scanned the scroll and then reread it. Slowly he looked up at Rowena and studied her carefully. "So you're Morgan's daughter?", he asked her in an almost reproachful tone. "Yes, I'm Rowena, the daughter of Morgan Hollow.", the girl confirmed and immediately a flood of whispers and astonished exclamations broke out in the room. Richard's eldest son, Morgan, hadn't been seen in the castle in a number of years. Word had got around that he had a child, but Morgan had never brought it here to present it to the people. Some had even assumed that Rowena's existence was just a rumor, but now she, the heiress of the heir, stood right in front of them all. 

Richard eyed Rowena critically, leaning forward to get a better view of her. "You're small.", he growled. He almost said puny. Rowena blinked in surprise. "I'm twelve years old.", she explained, but Richard didn't seem happy with that answer. "Where's Morgan?", he demanded to know gruffly. The absence of the Crown Prince was actually quite strange when his daughter was here. Just like his duty. “He didn't come with me. He said I should come here. To my grandpa.", Rowena explained, which elicited a disapproving snort from Richard. "Don't call me that.", he snapped at her. Rowena frowned in incomprehension. "But... you are my grandfather.", she justified herself. "I am your King too, so you will address me with Your Majesty, as is proper.", he said in a growing bad mood. The document in his hand was already crumpled up by him. Rowena was still looking very confused. "King... yes, yes... But I've never seen you before.", she said thoughtfully. The crowd looked back and forth between her and Richard. The last time anyone had upset Richard in the way she was unintentionally doing hadn't ended well. But the last time it wasn't a member of the royal family either. Richard fell back on his throne, as if to draw attention to the symbol of power he was sitting on. "I've never seen you either, and yet you're my son's daughter.", he uttered. He couldn't be too strict with a child, his grandchild at that, in front of so many people. Rowena looked even more irritated now. “But my father wrote where we live. You could have visited us, you have so many carriages. We don't have any carriages.”, she said. Richard crushed the scroll completely in his hand. “I don't have to justify myself to you for not chasing after my failed son. And now shut up and come with me. Enough court has been held for today.", Richard announced, got up and strutted with quick steps out of the hall. Rowena grabbed her sack and ran after him, while behind her the whispering grew even louder as the crowd left the hall. 

Without a word, Richard led Rowena into the solar where his other two children were having tea together. Cassandra, the second eldest, was sprawled on a sofa bed, dressed warmly as always. A woolen dress, a silk shawl, and a heavy blanket over her legs protected her poor health. In her auburn hair was a silver hairpin that ended in a thick end that was shaped like a robin and held her hair up so that no strand was hanging into her china cup. When she looked up and saw her father, she couldn't quite succeed in the smile she had actually meant to give him. Richard trudged wordlessly past Cassandra and the table on which the tea set was standing and headed straight for the carafe of wine that was on a table at the other end of the room. "Well. What spoiled your mood today?", Gwen asked from the window. He had lifted his niece so she could look out the window into the garden, now he lowered her so she could leave the room. But she didn't do that, but ran to her mother, held on to her blanket and looked with childlike curiosity at the girl she had never seen before. "That there.", Richard growled, nodded in Rowena's direction and threw the crumpled scroll to his youngest. Cassandra and Gwen turned their gaze to her and saw Rowena for the first time. She stood like a shadow on the expensive carpet and looked around with wide, bicolored eyes without saying a word. "Hello Little one. Sit down and have some tea if you want.", Cassandra said kindly to her, while she stroked her daughter's hair, then turned back to her father, but he was too busy drinking wine to notice her questioning look. So Cassandra turned to Gwen, who had unfolded the document and was reading it. With a sad expression he passed it on to his sister, who read it through quickly and then threw a nervous glance at Rowena, who had meanwhile sat down on a chair that was so big that her feet didn't touch the floor. 

There was silence while Cassandra and Gwen glanced at each other and Richard left the room without saying goodbye. "Mom, who is she?", Cassandra's daughter asked into the silence. Glad that she now knew what to say, Cassandra turned to her and brushed back her blond locks. “Ligeia, my darling, this is your older cousin. Her name is Rowena and she is the daughter of my big brother, your uncle Morgan. She will live with us from now on.", she explained to the child. Ligeia nodded and approached Rowena. With her rosy cheeks and the pink frilly dress she looked like a songbird next to a raven next to the black-clad and black-haired Rowena. “Hello, Rowena my cousin. I'm Ligeia and I'm seven.", she introduced herself and held up seven fingers to prove it. For the first time since she'd entered the castle, a smile twitched in the corners of Rowena's mouth. Cassandra immediately took the opportunity. "Ligeia, maybe you would like to show Rowena her new room.", she suggested and gestured for Gwen to ring for a servant. He did and shortly afterwards a servant appeared, to whom Cassandra instructed to lead the two girls to the empty room next to Ligeia's. Rowena took her sack, thanked Cassandra and Gwen briefly and left the room with Ligeia, who was happily babbling to her. As soon as the door closed behind them, Cassandra sank back into the sofa and stared at the letter in disbelief. 

“Have you ever met her?", Gwen asked, while he sank down next to her on the chair Rowena had been sitting on until now. "Do you mean the mother or the daughter?", Cassandra asked back as she rubbed her temples. “We just got to know the daughter. We'll see her more often, but...", Gwen fell silent, because he didn't know what to say. He had only visited his brother's family once when Rowena was only three years old. “I've seen her twice. I was there at their wedding, secretly because I should have been visiting a lord nearby. And a few years later, when I was pregnant with Ligeia, I saw her again briefly. It was she who suggested the name Ligeia.”, Cassandra told him and hid her face in her hands. “She was a wonderful woman. And so beautiful. Rowena looks like her, except for the left eye.", she added. "And except for the fact that she's a lot younger.", Gwen muttered. His sister poked him in the side. The two couldn't continue to talk like that since Richard came back. He had taken off the crown and put on something less sumptuous. “Father, we shouldn't leave Morgan alone with his grief now. I want to visit him.”, Cassandra said pleadingly, but Richard glared at her angrily. "Are you crazy? Let him come here himself. And if someone can't help but go to him, it won't be you. With your tendency to get sick, you almost risk dying on the way to him. And even if you get there safely, he might end up having one of his... seizures at exactly this time. One child with his condition is one too many.", Richard explained angrily. With hands crossed behind his back, he paced up and down the room. “Father, how can you talk like that? Leave Morgan alone in his misery? How did you feel when mother died?”, Gwen said indignantly and stood up, but his father pushed him back into the chair. "Beware of what you say, brat!", he yelled at him. 

Gwen and Cassandra stared at Richard in horror, but he ignored their gaze and continued on his way back and forth. “As if it wasn't enough that my eldest child, my heir, had to roam all over the country looking for strange creatures, no, he has to marry one, and to take it to the extreme, he'll have a child with her. And now that this being is dead, he dumps the child here. I want Morgan to get out of his mess on his own.”, Richard growled. "She had a name, her name was Berenice.", Gwen hissed, but this time he stayed where he was and just crossed his arms. Richard just waved his hand. "Now that she's dead, I don't have to remember her name anymore.", he said, as if he had memorized it before. Gwen lowered his gaze and clenched his fists. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that his sister was holding back the tears. He got up and helped her off the sofa. "Come on, you should rest, otherwise you'll get a headache again.", he said to her. It wasn't even a lie. Without their father addressing them with another word, Cassandra and Gwen left the room. Cassandra clung to her younger brother's arm and let the tears run down her cheeks. “Why did she have to die anyway? Berenice was... How can someone like her just die?”, she mumbled. Gwen didn't answer. He didn't want to lie to her or tell her what he thought. “At least Morgan is sane enough to see that while he is grieving, he cannot raise Rowena on his own. It was good that he sent her here. She will get to know the life at the castle and make friends with Ligeia and other children, maybe that distracts her a bit from her own grief.”, Gwen tried to cheer them both up. Cassandra wiped away her tears. "Her mother is dead. I think it will be difficult to distract her from that.", she muttered, but Gwen patted her hand. "Everything will be fine.", he assured her, although he didn't quite believe it himself.


	3. the castle

Rowena stared nervously at the doorknob. She hadn't left her room in the past few days, most of the time hiding under the covers of her bed or in the closet. The big castle with the many strangers scared her, especially since it was the first time she was without her parents. It felt like it couldn't be true that she would never see her mother again, but Rowena could feel it deep inside her. She had known all along that her mother was dead while her father had still been looking for her because he believed she was just far away. Rowena felt so alone and had only wanted to hide, but still she could no longer stay it in her room. She would look for her uncle and aunt, they were nice to her. Maybe they would say more nice things to her. Maybe Rowena would find the garden too. She had to do something, otherwise she would go crazy, she told herself. Nevertheless, she had been standing in front of her door for half an hour and couldn't get herself to open it and leave the room. Rowena turned away and grabbed the black coat she'd been wearing when she got here. The coat had belonged to her mother and still smelled of her. Rowena put it on and covered herself completely in it. The tears came again and she considered just staying in the room. It would be easy to just stay here, as she had until now. To leave the curtains closed, to leave the tablets with meals on the table and to hide whenever a servant came in to tidy up. But then it would go on and on and Rowena was slowly afraid that she might cry her eyes out of her head. There had to be something out there to make her feel better about everything. So Rowena gathered all her courage, took the doorknob with both hands and pulled it down. 

Rowena walked carefully down the hallways through the castle. Whenever she heard footsteps, she quickly went elsewhere. The coat dragged across the floor behind her and the light noise it made was the only one Rowena made as she walked around and looked at the castle. Her father had often told her about it and also told her that one day he would bring her here. But it had always sounded like it was going to take place in the distant future, and Rowena had always assumed that her parents would be with her when she first explored her ancesters' home. But instead of showing her around, Morgan was far away. The castle was huge, at least from Rowena's perspective. The stone corridors seemed to stretch forever and with their intersections and bends she thought it would be a kind of labyrinth. In reality, the castle was built very simply, you just had to get used to it. The walls were made of stone, the doors were made of thick wood and whenever Rowena passed a window, she smelled the smells of the garden and the training yard from which the clink of tournament swords could be heard. Rowena couldn't find her aunt's room or any other place she'd seen on her first day here, so she finally decided to just climb out of a window. There were more than enough cracks and protruding stones for her to get down without any problems in no time. She could easily have climbed down a smoother surface, but the maid who saw Rowena and was terrified seemed not to know that. Rowena mumbled hello to the distraught woman who had been staring at her while she was climbing, and then quickly ran away. It made her nervous that she was so shocked for no reason. 

Morgan had spoken of a large castle garden in which there was also a small forest, but it was further away from the castle than the training yard, so it was natural that Rowena passed by that first. Surrounded by smaller, mostly wooden buildings from which she could hear the hammering of blacksmiths or the piercing sound of a sword being sharpened, there was a large, sandy square where knights and squires were spread out and practiced swordfighting together. A few archers stood at the side of the place, shooting at a row of large round targets. Rowena had never seen so many fighters at once before. To get a better view, she climbed the wall of the forge, walked to the edge of the roof, and sat down there. She watched as the knights swung their swords one after the other and took a break from time to time, raised their helmet visors and called out suggestions for improving each others' fighting strategies. The armorer walked between them, hands crossed behind his back. He was a knight himself, but older than most of the people here. His light brown hair had a few streaks of gray, but was still strong enough to reach his shoulders instead of falling out. A short beard hid his wrinkles a little, but his blue eyes looked around attentively and his walk was straight and confident. He exuded calm and experience and kept stopping to give advice to the young fighters. 

While he was walking around, he suddenly noticed Rowena sitting on the roof. Surprised, he went into her direction, but while he was doing that, he suddenly seemed to recognize her and he slowed his steps indecisively. News of Rowena's arrival and what she looked like had spread throughout the castle in no time. The armorer had heard of her too, of course. He changed his direction and approached a group of three fighters. When he spoke to them, they took off their helmets. Rowena didn't know two of them. They were tall, strong, and blond, and looked so much alike that they had to be siblings, but Rowena was familiar with the third's auburn hair and gray eyes. Gwen's gaze slid in the direction the armorer was pointing and he spotted Rowena, immediatly staring at her with wide eyes in surprise. He exchanged a few words with his friends and the armorer, then hurried over to Rowena. He stopped directly below her. "Nice to see you again. What are you doing up there?”, he asked. The smile he forced onto his face didn't hide how irritated he was that she'd suddenly appeared up there. "I'm watching.", Rowena explained. She hoped that now he would go back to the others and let her continue watching in peace, but he kept talking. “You shouldn't be sitting up there. That's dangerous.”, he said to Rowena's surprise. Rowena thought for a moment, but she couldn't think of what danger he meant. Birds of prey could not carry her and there was no thunderstorm that could hit her with a lightning. "Why?", she finally asked. Gwen frowned. "Well, because you could fall down and hurt yourself.", he said, as if it was perfectly clear. Rowena hadn't thought of that. She looked down, but it was only a few yards to the ground. So she pushed herself off the roof and landed right in front of Gwen, who stared at her in horror, on her feet. "How... how did you do that?", he stammered, as if he couldn't believe it. Rowena cocked her head in confusion. She had jumped onto the ground from much bigger heights and always landed on her feet without any problems, but when she told Gwen about this, he was only more confused and didn't seem to believe her. 

To change the topic of conversation, Gwen waved his two training partners over. They both bowed to Rowena, but were irritated when she mimicked the greeting. “You don't have to bow to anyone. The two are just knights, they are far below you.", Gwen explained quietly. Before Rowena could ask what else to do and what he meant by that, Gwen quickly introduced them to each other. The two knights had heard of Rowena. As she had suspected, they were siblings. Their names were Adela and Arthur and they belonged to the same family as the armorer. Almost all of their ancestors had also been knights, and their uncle served in the king's guard. "It is an honor for us to welcome you in the castle.", Adela announced happily. Her brother nodded in confirmation. “We are both very happy to get to know you. We have already trained here with your father and now with your uncle. How is your father doing?”, Arthur added. Rowena lowered her gaze at the question. "I dont know. He hardly speaks to me since Mum died.", she answered truthfully. An uncomfortable silence fell over the group and Arthur bowed his head in shame at his question. “Maybe he will be talking to me. I'll visit him.”, Gwen announced after a few minutes. Rowena looked up at him and studied his face. "He's going to send you away.", she warned him softly. "Well, then I won't go away.", Gwen said, "Maybe I can even persuade him to come here with me. Would you be happy about that?” Rowena looked down again and buried her fingers in her coat. She could feel her eyes getting wet, but she didn't want to cry in front of the adults. So she turned and ran away. Gwen exchanged a puzzled look with Adela and Arthur. "She's really fast.", Adela muttered, impressed, as she watched Rowena, who disappeared fast as a lightning.

Rowena ran away in no time, not really knowing where to. She felt foolish for thinking that she might find comfort outside of her room. Why should one expect such a thing from strangers? Rowena slowed as the scent of flowers filled her nose. She had found the gardens and the greenhouses with plants in them. After making sure that no one was around, she looked for a bed of roses with stems so long that they protruded over Rowena's head. Rowena pushed herself into the middle of the flower bed, sat down on the soil and pulled her coat around her like a blanket. She bowed her head and closed her eyes so that the few rays of the sun that fell through the cloud cover wouldn't blind her. Why did it have to be so difficult to get used to the change? She was no longer a small child, she should at least get along a little without her parents, she told herself. She had to be strong, had to get used to this big castle in this strange place and the people in it. It was easy to think that, but until now Rowena had lived in a small house in the woods near a small town and was surrounded almost only by her parents. And now her mother was dead and her father had sent her away because he didn't want to take care of her alone. Rowena buried her head deep in her coat and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She paid no attention when a gardener came by and stared in amazement at the bed in which she was hidden. "I could have sworn yesterday the roses were smaller.", he muttered and walked on, shaking his head.


	4. Morgan

Gwen looked expectantly out the window of the carriage and tried to see the house he was being driven to through the trees. It had taken some time until he finally managed to drive to his brother and now he was nervous. Morgan hadn't written again since he had sent Rowena to the castle. He lived near the northern border of the country in a rural area where a crown prince would never be expected. Finally the carriage stopped and Gwen recognized the small house, more like a hut, between the trees. It had been a few years since Morgan had bought the house and he had lived in it with his wife and daughter ever since. Gwen jumped out of the carriage and asked the driver and the few guards he had allowed to come with him to wait. When he knocked on the door, he heard nothing at first. He was already thinking Morgan might be out of house when he heard heavy footsteps and finally Morgan flung the door open. His auburn hair was tousled and long enough to be tied in a bun at the back of his head. He was unshaven and there were deep shadows under his gray eyes. The linen clothes he was wearing smelled of his sweat, he looked worn and tired. He looked down at his brother in a bad mood. "Oh, it's you.", he muttered. Gwen blinked in surprise. "Uh... yes, I... I wrote that I was going to visit you.", he said, somewhat embarrassed. He had expected to find his big brother in a bad state, but reality exceeded his expectations. Morgan said nothing, turned on his heel and went back inside. From leaving the door open behind him, Gwen concluded that he could come in. 

Gwen looked around anxiously as he slowly followed Morgan. He hadn't seen the house very often, but he remembered finding it very beautiful. It had been comfortably furnished, fragrant plants had bloomed in the garden and a few flowers had stood around in vases here and there, because Berenice had loved flowers and Morgan had always brought them for her because of that. But now there was a thin layer of dust on most of the furniture, deep scratches were drawn over some of the furniture and it was not tidy at all. When Gwen walked into the kitchen he heard a faint crunch under his shoes and when he looked down he noticed that there were a few shards of glass on the floor. Morgan didn't seem to mind. He poured himself a glass of whiskey and offered his brother one too. Gwen sat down tensely at the kitchen table across from him. "You look...", he started and eyed Morgan. "Horrible? Yeah, I know.”, Morgan growled. It really was a growl, the last full moon had been the day before yesterday. "Not the word I was looking for, but true.", Gwen muttered. He considered drinking the glass of whiskey, but decided against it. Morgan meanwhile drained his in one gulp and poured himself another one. "How's Cassandra?", he muttered and drank the second glass. “Well, like always. The doctor says she's doing very well for someone who was born with such poor health.", Gwen replied and wiped some dirt from the table top to rest his arms there. 

“I am not worried about Cassandra and neither about her daughter. Not even father, who is as stubborn and rude as ever. You, however...”, Gwen continued, gazing meaningfully at Morgan, who was pouring his third glass. Morgan set the bottle aside and ran a hand through his hair. "What? Is it surprising that I feel awful? My wife was killed and I can't even demand justice for it.", he mumbled after a short while of silence and also drank the third glass. When he put it back down, Gwen took it from him. "She was killed?", he asked in shock. Morgan blinked at him, puzzled. "Yes, what did you think? That she had a heart attack?”, he wanted to know and tried to grab the glass but Gwen held it away from him. "But... I know she was... She was...", he stuttered. Morgan rolled his eyes and sank back in the chair. "A vampire. The word is vampire, damn it. Berenice was a vampire, so what? That doesn't make her a vicious monster that kills people indiscriminately, not at all! She drank the minimum of blood a vampire can handle and she drank it either from dead animals or from me! If anyone here acted like a monster, it was the ones who killed her!”, Morgan explained, getting louder. 

Tears welled up in his eyes and his fists clenched in frustration. “She was so peaceful, she never harmed anyone, on the contrary, she was helpful and kind. If anyone knows that, it's me. She found me after a particularly bad full moon night and took care of my wounds, just because she saw me and knew that I needed her help. That's how we got to know each other. It's always been like that. She took care of me every full moon, thanks to her I never went crazy, the village never suffered from us in any way! But still, one day she didn't come home. Rowena came to me and cried. She said Berenice was dead. And I didn't want to believe her, I ran around, I looked for her everywhere, but I never found her. All I found were the rumors in the village that a group of mercenaries had found a vampire in the forest and killed her. They were even happy about it!", Morgan told his brother and started to cry. He ran his hands over his face and gave a choked sob. “I couldn't even bury her. When a vampire is killed, it turns to dust within a few moments, I never found her remains.”, he sobbed, grabbed the whiskey bottle and took a long swig from it. 

Gwen stared at him in shock. The letter he had given Rowena had only said that Berenice was dead, not how she had died. And what Morgan was describing was indeed horrific, but nothing could be done about it. Like all types of creatures commonly known as dark creatures, vampires were outlawed. There was nothing wrong with killing such a being when you saw it, let alone forbidden by law. These mercenaries had probably acted in good faith, thinking they were doing the people of the village a favor by killing Berenice. No one asked what a dark creature did exactly, whether it acted really maliciously or avoided killing people. And Morgan couldn't even admit that Berenice had been his wife. He would be considered insane if they found out that he had been married to a vampire, or worse, people might find out that he was a werewolf himself and then he would face the same fate.

When Morgan had calmed down somewhat, Gwen cleared his throat. "You should come home with me.", he said, but as soon as he spoke, a humorless laugh escaped Morgan. "Have you gone crazy?", he asked, frowning. “It's not good for you to be alone. Besides, you haven't been in the castle for so long, you have to get used to being there again before you inherit it and the throne from our father.", Gwen replied, but Morgan shook his head. “You did go crazy. The nobles would freak out if they found out that I've become a werewolf. Especially when I'm supposed to sit on the stupid throne. I've never been made for that.”, he said. It had only been a few years since Morgan had gotten infected with lycantrophy. He'd wanted to travel around the country and study creatures, especially dark ones, but then this incident had happened and Morgan had avoided the castle ever since. “I wouldn't be a good king either way. When the time comes for the throne to be passed on, it will go to Rowena.”, Morgan explained.

“That's someone else that worries me. Morgan, I don't know how to put it... What is Rowena?”, Gwen asked concerned. Morgan paused. "My daughter.", he said, staring at the tabletop. “Yes, but... what is your daughter? What kind of creature?”, Gwen asked. "Human, of course, what's the point, stop it.", Morgan growled, but Gwen shook his head. “Cassandra told me to ask that and not come back without an answer. The answer is even more important to Rowena than it is to us.”, Gwen explained. Morgan shifted nervously in his chair. "She doesn't know. Your daughter doesn't know what she is. She wonders why they all find her so strange. She climbs on walls like a marten and jumps from great heights landing on her feet, she runs as fast as a horse and every time she steps into a flowerbed you can watch the flowers get bigger and stronger around her. Rowena hides from the sunlight, can see in the dark and makes no noise when she walks. And she doesn't understand that this is not normal. She doesn't know that she isn't human. If you don't want to explain it to your own daughter, at least let Cassandra and me do it.”, Gwen persuaded him and he managed to get through to him. Morgan looked up at him sadly. "I don't know.", he muttered. Gwen stared at him in disbelief. “What do you mean, you don't know? You studied magical creatures!”, he exclaimed in amazement. “Yes, and yet I don't know. Sometimes I think she's a vampire, but no one is born a vampire, and besides, she can feed on more than blood. I don’t know what she is. I can't even explain why she exists. Vampires are undead, undead cannot produce life, but Berenice became pregnant and gave birth to Rowena. There has never been something like that before. Never! I have no idea what Rowena is.", Morgan explained. The two brothers stared at each other for quite a while. Finally Gwen took the glass of whiskey he had spurned earlier and drank it.


	5. no human

The forest was quiet and calm, save for the occasional rustling of leaves when the wind blew through them or an animal walked by. Rowena sat on a low but thick branch and watched a hare eat some clover beneath her. The small forest at the far end of the palace garden had quickly become her favorite spot. Here she could be alone when she wanted. Here she could take in the comforting presence of the trees and ferns. And above all, she could escape from anyone in the palace, especially from her grandfather. Rowena had heard many times that Richard was a great man. That he was a good fighter and strategist and a fair judge. That might all be true, but he wasn't a good grandfather. Rowena had begun avoiding him a few days after she left her room, but that was a difficult endeavor with a king one was related to. At least he let his children calm him down a little when he got upset again. His children, one of whom wasn't in the castle at the moment. Gwen had announced, before he had left, that he would be gone for a few days. That was a week ago now.

Rowena breathed in the scent of the moss-covered tree, then straightened up and jumped down. She made no sound when she hit the ground, so the hare almost didn't notice her. It hopped away and Rowena let him go. She started running too, but in the opposite direction. She ran over the roots and grass like a lightning. Her hair flew behind her like a black cloud and her black cloak fluttered in the wind. Rowena could run incredibly fast, at least that's what she'd been told. She had never felt very fast. After all, any horse could keep up with her. Rowena ran through the woods and didn't stop until she got to the training yard. The sun was shining through the cloud cover, so Rowena hid in the shadow of the armory, where she could overlook the entire yard. She quickly discovered the armorer, who, as usual, was walking his rounds between the knights and squires who were training. Adela and Arthur were there too. They passed the armory without noticing Rowena and talked to each other. Rowena couldn't make out what they talked about, but she heard Gwen and Morgan's names. Rowena immediately ran to the castle to see if her uncle was back. 

She ran straight into her aunt's solar and Gwen was actually there with Cassandra. But Richard was also present. He drank a glass of wine and stared angrily out the window. Meanwhile, Cassandra and Gwen were sitting next to each other by the fireplace and looked at Rowena full of sorrow when she came in. Rowena froze and looked back and forth between the three of them. "What happened?", she asked shyly. Richard looked up and saw her. "You'll be queen one day.", he hissed at her as if she'd done something wrong. Rowena winced and looked at her aunt for help. Cassandra patted the chair next to her. Rowena sat down on it nervously and her gaze flicked back and forth between the three adults. Cassandra gave her brother a meaningful look and he nodded. “Listen, Rowena. I've just come back from visiting your father.”, he began. "What did he say? Did he talk to you? Did he tell you what he didn't want to tell me?”, Rowena blurted out. She was trembling with tension and stared at Gwen with large, bi-coloured eyes. Gwen gulped and nodded hesitantly. "He wants you to be father's heir in his place.", Cassandra exclaimed. Rowena looked down on the floor when she heard her grandfather shout at that. “This damn brat puts his kid in our nest and then evades every, really every responsibility! Even the one he was born for! He wants a creature to sit on the throne! A creature born of an undead will become queen! Morgan's enthusiasm for these beasts goes too far!”, Richard roared angrily and threw his glass to the floor. 

Rowena winced when she heard the clang. She didn't look up from the floor while she waited for him to go silent again. "What did my father say to you?", she muttered to Gwen. “He said he doesn't want to return to the castle and that he wants to give up the throne. You will inherit it.”, Gwen explained, but Rowena shook her head. That wasn't the information she wanted to hear. "What else did he say?", she asked. Gwen looked at Cassandra for help and she nodded. "Look, Rowena, you might know that your father is a werewolf and your mother was a vampire. That begs the question of what you are. And Morgan doesn't know. He's studied magical beings and knows his way around both vampires and werewolves, but nothing like you has ever been born before. Your mother should have been completely sterile. We don't know what kind of being you are. All I can tell you with certainty is that you are not a normal human. That's why you can do things that others can't.", Cassandra explained. Rowena didn't show whether she heard her or not. She just stared at the floor until she finally got up and ran out of the room.


	6. council

Richard took a sip of water and got up from the large oval table in the center of the small council chamber. He walked to the window and looked out into the palace garden. Behind him the members of the royal council left the room, only two remaining in their seats. Lord Meadow, the lord admiral of the royal fleet, watched the king thoughtfully. He was a tall, slender man with short hair and an even shorter, well-groomed beard. The brown silk tunic he wore today was only a few shades lighter than his skin. "Your Grace?", he raised his voice. Richard looked up to see Lord Meadow and his sister. “The meeting is over. Everything has been said about the dwarves. You can leave.”, he said harshly and looked back out of the window. Lord Meadow sighed and glanced at his sister, who was as annoyed as he was, playing with the loop of the white wooden stick she used as a visual aid.

Meadow got up and approached the king. He stopped next to him and followed his gaze. As he had guessed, Richard was watching his granddaughters playing with Ligeia's dolls on the lawn. Or rather Ligeia played with the dolls and Rowena kept her company, hidden from the sun under an umbrella. Lord Meadow cleared his throat. "It wasn't the visit of Wisay and his sons that I wanted to address.", he explained. For the whole council meeting they had talked about nothing but the king of the dwarves who lived in the neighboring mountains. He would be coming to visit soon to strengthen the friendly relationship between the two kingdoms. If Lord Meadow had anything else to say about it, he would have discussed it in the council. "So? Speak up.”, Richard urged him. Meadow smiled and nodded, amused by the harsh behavior of his king. "It's about the princess.", he explained. Automatically he and Richard took another look at Rowena and Ligeia playing in the grass.

Richard turned away from the window, crossed his arms behind his back and began to pace back and forth. “Ligeia is a good kid. And still far too young. Don't think about proposing a marriage between her and one of Wisay's sons.", he clarified. Meadow, however, shook his head. “That was not what I wanted to say. And it's not Ligeia I'm talking about, but her cousin Rowena.", he explained patiently and glanced at his sister. As if she could sense that he was looking at her for support, Lady Eskar, the Lady Chamberlain of the Kingdom, raised her voice. “It has now been almost two years since Morgan ceded his position as heir to the throne to his daughter. Rowena has been here that long and the only people she talks to are Cassandra, Gwen and Ligeia.", she reminded Richard. But he just snorted annoyed. "So what? She is just not sociable. Why should I deal with it?”, he wanted to know.

Lord Meadow moved to stand by his sister's chair and placed a hand on her shoulder. “She is the heir to the throne. It is important that she develops well and gets along with other people. After all, one day she should take care of the kingdom's people. It's not good for her to have real conversations with just one person.”, he explained. Lady Eskar couldn't help laughing. “My brother is definitely not a math genius, but his math works out. Cassandra has to sleep a lot for her health and Gwen is often on the ships. So that only leaves Ligeia. Although... I heard Rowena exchanged a few sentences with the armorer once or twice.", she added. Meadow looked at his sister in admiration. "You really do hear everything.", he stated. "An advantage of being blind.", replied Lady Eskar with a smile. Richard sighed next to them. “All right, the brat should settle in. She is going to have lessons with noble children of her age. If she doesn't find any friends there, but rather continues cuddling with stray wolves and tame bats, it's not my fault.”, he said.


	7. dandelions

Sir Edward Akeela had been the armorer of the royal palace for several decades. He had trained and made Knights out of Morgan and Gwen Hollow, and had listened to Cassandra Hollow as she had gossiped about the doctors not allowing her to learn how to fight as well. Edward liked the king's three children. And when two of them had children of their own, he was happy for them. Now he hoped that he would train these two girls as well.

Edward was walking through the castle garden when he saw some of the people his thoughts were about. Cassandra was lying on a deck chair with a book in her hands that she wasn't reading. Instead, she watched her daughter, who was walking around in the meadow, singing loudly and holding a doll in her arms. Ligeia was cheerful and cute, hopping around with bouncing curls. Edward couldn't help but smile. He had no children himself, but he had helped raise his niece and nephew and could understand the feeling the parents had.

He walked up to Cassandra and stopped beside her. “Ligeia is developing well, Your Highness. I'm sure you're proud of her.”, he said and smiled at Cassandra. She looked up at him and nodded. “Of course I am. And besides, I'm glad that she gets on so well with Rowena. Even if their friendship looks strange from the outside. Just look at Rowena.", she replied softly and nodded in the direction of a large lilac flower bush. Edward looked closely and found that Rowena was standing motionless in the shade of the bush, watching her cousin. She was almost invisible. With her black clothes and black hair, she seemed to merge with the shadows. She looked like the complete opposite of Ligeia, which explained Cassandra's remark.

“Rowena is fourteen now. That means she will soon be allowed to practice her fighting skills for the first time.", Edward picked up his thoughts from before. It was customary for the young nobles to slowly begin to learn to use the sword and bow at the age of fourteen or fifteen. Rowena wouldn't have much training at such a young age, but it would provide a good foundation for the more serious training that would follow when she was older. "Yes, that's true. As soon as she's fifteen we'll send her to you, Sir Akeela.”, Cassandra said, causing Edward's chest to swell with pride. He was pleased with the trust that she put in him as a teacher.

While the two were talking, Ligeia picked some dandelion flowers. Only a few of them grew in the meadow and, to her disappointment, Ligeia failed to weave a flowercrown with them. When she told her cousin about it, Rowena didn't say a word. She took a few steps away from the lilac flower bush and knelt down on the ground. The earth was soft and when Rowena put her hands in the grass, she could easily slide her fingers into the soil. Cassandra was about to shout a question to her to find out what Rowena was doing when she was distracted by her daughter's serene giggles and claps. The next moment she saw what Ligeia was so happy about.

Around Rowena, a lot of dandelions grew out of the grass, slowly at first, then faster and faster. They spread like a yellow wave around Rowena and sprouted from the earth in no time at all. The wind made them rock back and forth and Ligeia happily hopped up and down. Rowena only withdrew her fingers when the whole meadow was full of flowers. As if nothing had happened, she quietly hid from the sun under the lilac bush, as before and watched Ligeia pick flowers and weave the stems together. Ligeia had a flowercrown on her head in no time, put one on Rowena's black hair, brought another to her mother and even made one for Sir Edward. He thanked her politely, then turned to Cassandra. “That was magic. I assure you that it was magic. It would be best to get an expert to find out how much of it is in her.”, he explained to Cassandra quietly. She just nodded, speechless.


	8. a task

Morgan gulped hard as he peered out of the curtain on the carriage window and stared at the approaching castle. He hadn't been here in many years. He had gone into hiding, afraid to come back here and face his duties and the nobles and court life. He hadn't been fit for any of these since he became a werewolf. The nobles would make wide circles around him, every full moon he would be locked in the dungeon and they would whisper about him without end. If things went particularly badly, if Morgan became king, he would be overthrown for his lycanthropic condition.

Morgan leaned back. That wouldn't happen. Because he wouldn't become king, oh no, his daughter would do that. She would take the throne. The girl who had defeated him at chess at the age of five, a week after learning the game, would grow up to be a woman who would do well on the throne. Morgan tried to imagineit . Rowena, on the throne, imperious but trustworthy and wise. But when Morgan closed his eyes, Rowena looked like Berenice to him. Granted, the two had always looked incredibly alike, but the eyes were different. 

Finally he arrived in the yard of the castle, got out of the carriage and went inside. He tried to lift his head as little as possible and to avoid as many people as possible while he went through the castle and straight into his sister's solar. She wasn't there, so Morgan went to his room, changed his clothes, and took out his books. He had a job, that's why he was here. He had to do his job so that his family would know better about the future queen. Morgan got up, sighed, and reluctantly made his way to see his father.

Sir Edward Akeela rode through the forest on his horse and looked around. “Rowena! Rowena? Princess, where are you?”, he kept shouting. "What is it?", he suddenly heard her voice above him. Edward stopped his horse and looked up. Rowena hung upside down from a branch of an oak tree and watched Edward with curious, bi-coloured eyes as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Edward raised his arms and held out his hands to her. “Your aunt sent me to take you to the castle. The experts are there to find out how strong your magic is.”, he explained. Rowena let herself fall and he caught her. While Rowena made herself comfortable in the saddle in front of him, he turned his horse and rode back to the castle with her.


	9. the assessment

They gathered in the small council room. Richard wanted as few people as possible to know of Rowena's abilities before he announced she was a mage. Accordingly, only three experts were gathered. Otherwise only he and his children were present as well as Sir Edward Akeela, who stood by the door and watched. There had been no family member with magical powers in the Hollow family in many decades. They were still one of the families that had the most of them. In other human families the magicians were even rarer. Magic wasn't too widespread anymore, even among the elves. They had mixed up with humans too much.

An elf with magical powers was present, however. Era was the wife of an influential Elven trader. She was currently in Bellaria because she had accompanied him on a trip. She was friends with Cassandra, who had asked for her to be here today. Her son played with Ligeia while Era waited in another part of the castle to judge Rowena's magic. She toyed with her blonde locks that curled down over her pointy ears while she waited.

The second expert had no magical powers themself, but they had learned a lot about them. Haru Eskar had once been an apprentice in the Order of the Phoenix. But they had left the Order and moved away from the eastern islands and was now the sibling-in-law of Lady June Eskar, who sat in the king's council.

The third expert was the last to enter the room. Morgan Hollow was nervous. He greeted his siblings and formally introduced himself to Era and Haru, then sat down, looked down, and said nothing. He hadn't wanted to come, but his sister had persuaded him. It was important to be able to know all about Rowena's strength. The only thing that was clear until now was that Rowena was very strong, but didn't know how strong. So Morgan, who knew about dark creatures and their magic, had come.

When Sir Akeela led Rowena into the room, she stared at Morgan with wide eyes. He got up and walked slowly towards her, unsure how to interpret her gaze. Rowena stood in silence where she was and stared at her father speechless. He nervously fidgeted on the spot. "My dear daughter...", he said. He didn't ,anage to say more. Rowena took two quick steps forward and punched him in the stomach so hard that Morgan doubled over and went down on his knees. Now he was at eye level with her and saw the tears in her angry sparkling eyes. “You shouldn't have left me alone! You're my father, you shouldn't have left me alone!”, Rowena hissed.

Edward held her back by the shoulder and Cassandra hurried over to Morgan, who blinked puzzled. "I... I...", he muttered. Cassandra poked him in the side with her elbow to make him pull himself together and led him to the table where she sat him down. Then she turned to Era and Haru, who had stood up. “My esteemed experts, please excuse this incident. Now, if I may make the introduction: Rowena Berenice Lilith Hollow, the Crown Princess of Bellaria. We have gathered so that their magical power can be judged.”, Cassandra explained and motioned for Rowena to sit down at the other end of the table.

Rowena, whose gaze had rested on Morgan until a moment ago, tossed her hair over her shoulder and went to her seat, where she sat down without a word. Across from her at the other end of the table was Richard, who glared at her and looked like he really didn't want to be here. He left it to his daughter to clear the formalities.

Cassandra sat down between her father and her older brother and cleared her throat. Turning to Era and Haru, who also sat down, she continued. “Please forgive us for not following the protocol. It's been so long since an assembly like this took place that no one remembers it and the records have almost completely crumbled. Well then. As we all know, Princess Rowena recently accidentally made it clear that she was born with magical power. As the almost forgotten custom would have it, she is now standing in front of a group of experts in magic so that they can find out how strong her power is, so that we, and above all Rowena herself, can correctly assess how to deal with it.”, she explained.

Then she turned to Rowena. “My dear niece, we invited Era daughter of Lessa, Haru Eskar and Morgan Hollow for your assessment. They will now ask you questions.”, Cassandra explained and pointed to the right person with each name. Rowena's gaze caught on Haru. “What are your pronouns?”, she wanted to know. “I don't value pronouns, Your Highness. I usually use them for myself.", replied Haru, who was looking like a somewhat androgynous young man.

After that was cleared up, Era took over. “Your Highness, I heard you have grown flowers. Can you explain how you did it?”, she asked. Rowena thought for a moment how to describe it. “I didn't think about what I was doing and how. I just did it.", she said finally. Her tone was almost apologetic as she couldn't describe it. Era wondered what to ask next, but Haru got ahead of her. "Can you do it again?", she wanted to know interested.

Rowena got up and stood on her chair, from where she climbed onto the wooden table. Before anyone could say anything, she put her palms on the tabletop and frowned. Moments later, dandelions were growing from the cracks in the wood all over the table. Astonished silence fell over the group as Rowena sat down on the heels of her feet and looked unmoved from one face to the next. Haru broke the silence with a laugh. “Impressive, Your Highness! Can you make other flowers too?”, she called.

Rowena looked at her confused. "I would have done that immediately, but I thought you wanted the same flowers as last time.", she said and got up. As she sat back in her chair, roses that had grown where Rowena had sat, bloomed. Cassandra stared at the roses with wide eyes. The experts exchanged surprised looks. "Why did you want roses of all flowers?", Era asked. "I do not know. They come naturally to me.”, Rowena replied.

“Well then that was all. That speaks for itself.", Haru stated and looked back and forth between Era and Morgan. Both nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't have thought...", Morgan muttered, dazed. "What? What's going on?”, Richard wanted to know. Era leaned forward and plucked a dandelion from the table. "That speaks for itself. Her power is really impressive.”, she said. "An earth mage...", Morgan muttered, still amazed. "What does this mean? Express yourself more clearly!”, Shouted Richard. “Her magic is focused on the element earth. That's why her plants are so good. So there is a plant, in this case the rose, that comes naturally to her. Because it's the trademark of her own magic. And that's why we're done, because you really have to have extremely strong magic so that the magic can even focus on an element. We're done because it's so obvious that Rowena is really extremely powerful.", Haru explained.


	10. Richard scolds

Ligeia hurried through the corridors of the castle until she reached her cousin's room. She knocked quickly and entered without waiting for an answer. As always, the curtains were drawn and the room darkened, so Ligeia had to blink a few times before her eyes adjusted from the brightness of the sunny day outside to the gloomy lighting of Rowena's room. Rowena stood in her undergarment in front of the bird aviary in which she kept three bats whose drinking bowl she had just refilled. She looked up at Ligeia in surprise. 

“Usually you always wait until they say Come in. What happened?”, Rowena asked. Ligeia took a few breaths to catch her breath. “Grandfather is beside himself. He just welcomed King Wisay and his sons alone, with no other family member, so it would appear that you weren't there on purpose. Hurry up and get dressed. In a couple of hours there will be the banquet.”, Ligeia explained. Rowena sighed and turned to her closet with a frown. "He doesn't want me standing next to him anyway.", she mumbled and pulled out a velvet dress. "Yes, of course he wants that. The heir always stands next to the king, that's tradition.", Ligeia protested. She went to the unused doorbell to ring for a maid who would help her cousin change, but Rowena held her back. 

"Don't worry about it, I can dress myself.", she said, proving her words in no time at all. She had chosen a simple, dark green dress with a black hem and a slim silhouette. Richard hated clothes like this and always expressed it every time Rowena wore one, but Rowena preferred such dresses too much to bother about his words at a time at which she had to endure a feast with many strangers. As she left the room, Rowena quickly slipped on a pair of black heeled shoes, then followed her cousin out into the corridor. 

Ligeia ran ahead of Rowena with her skirt gathered in her hands and led her to her mother's drawing room. Ligeia's dress was her favorite rosé hue and had a wide skirt, was made of silk and tulle, and the skirt bounced a bit as she walked. It looked nice and lively. Rowena didn't get to appreciate the dress, however. As she looked at it, she realized that next to her cousin, she looked like a dark forest next to a meadow of flowers. Richard wouldn't like to see it. 

Rowena had barely thought of him when Richard already stomped towards them seemingly out of nowhere. "Grandfather, we were just about to...", Ligeia began, but he ignored her and stomped past her so closely that he almost pushed her aside with his shoulder. Ligeia was able to dodge just in time. She pressed herself against the wall and humbly bowed her head. Richard stoped in front of Rowena, who froze on the spot, and crossed his arms. “You stupid brat should have been next to me when I greeted Wisay! Where have you been? In the dog kennel? In the forest? Oh, it doesn't matter, the impression you make on the dwarf king can only have an influence on your damned reign, which I, God be gracious, will not live to see! It took a long time for the dwarves and us humans to develop the friendly relationship that we are now trying to cultivate, so pull yourself together and show your good side, if you have one at all, while our guests are here!”, Richard scolded . Then he turned around. “You look ridiculous, by the way. As if you were covered with moss.“, he added, then he walked away. 

Rowena didn't move a muscle while Richard left. She was still as frozen as she had been when he spoke, staring at the floor and breathing as calmly as she could.


	11. a fight

Rowena's cheeks ached from smiling. Before she sat down at the table, Richard had told her to smile the entire time, but never to show her teeth so that the dwarves wouldn’t notice her conspicuously sharp canines. Rowena did as told. She smiled without showing her teeth and pretended to eat. Nobody seemed to notice that she was just poking at her plate. Nobody seemed to notice her at all and Rowena didn't know whether she was relieved or disappointed about it.

The hall was so full of people it almost seemed to overflow. People and dwarves sat close together at the long tables, eating and laughing, tossing scraps of conversation to each other. The dwarves could hardly be distinguished from humans. They looked exactly the same, only that they were significantly smaller and all had beards and long hair, which was rather unusual for the humans. The dwarves were sturdy in stature and wore heavy boots and beautiful belts of silver or gold that held their coats together. Rowena was very curious about the dwarves, who seemed welcoming in their warm manner, but none of them were close so she could have started a conversation.

Rowena sat next to Richard at the banquet table at the head of the room on a raised platform. On her other side sat Ligeia, deep in conversation with two of the dwarf princes to her right. Richard himself sat between Rowena and King Wisay on whose other side Wisay's heir sat. The two kings exchanged a few words every now and again while they ate slowly and deliberately and let their eyes wander over the hall.

Richard and Wisay had introduced their families to the other king before dinner. Lined up like tin soldiers, they had stood face to face. Wisay had introduced his three sons in reverse order. He had started with Isaya, one of the smallest dwarves who was a year younger than Ligeia, next he had introduced Usay, the second oldest son, who already had a short brown beard and shoulder-length brown hair, and he ended with his eldest son and heir Dosaya, whose Hair and beard were as dark as his father's. According to Wisay's example, Richard had started with the youngest of his family and finished with his heiress, not even mentioning Morgan, who was absent. Since then, no one had paid any attention to Rowena. 

Rowena was too busy with herself and her thoughts. She only noticed the argument after it had broken out. Bad words had been spoken, the mood quickly turned under the influence of the many mead that the humans and dwarfs had drunk. The friendship between humans and dwarfs had not lasted long and stood on shaky legs. Therefore, there was immediately a noticeable tension throughout the hall when the argument degenerated into a fight in a few moments. Before Rowena knew it, armed men were standing in the open space provided for dancing in front of the raised area on which the royal families had taken their seats. The origin of the argument could be nothing more than a minor matter, but now armed humans and dwarves stood facing each other and shouted angrily at each other.

Richard and Wisay jumped up. They shouted orders to their people that were not heard. Rowena was frozen and watched the action like a spectator. It felt unreal, but Rowena got fully aware that it wasn't when Ligeia jumped up next to her, screaming. Swords and axes suddenly collided and the clanking sounded louder in Rowena's ears than it normally did on the sand square. As if stunned, she got up and blinked around, undecided what to do.

Wisay had gotten into the middle of the fray and turned on his own axis, roaring with anger. Richard paced back and forth yelling at the guards to intervene. Rowena could see Sir Edward Akeela in the crowd. He had went between a human and a dwarf and now had to defend himself against the human with his sword as if it were for his life. Rowena's mouth went dry. Maybe it was really about his life. Another scream tore Rowena from her observation. Ligeia had hurried off with Usay and Isaya. They had kept close to the wall and had already went a little way in the direction of the exit, but now the fighting extended to that side as well. Usay and Isaya stood protectively with their daggers in front of the unarmed Ligeia, but they too would not be able to defend themselves.

Rowena wanted to run to them, but before she did so, her gaze slid back to Akeela, who, with the help of the dwarf, fought a dogged fight against the man and already had several scratches. While Rowena was watching and wanted to turn away, it happened. Akeela and the dwarf collided inconveniently at the same time and their opponent was stabbed by Akeela's sword. He slumped down under Akeela's shocked gaze. The rest of the fighters did not seem to notice the dead man. Their attention was taken more by Wisay, who stood in the middle and had to defend himself against five people at the same time, armed only with his dagger.

Rowena looked back and forth between her frightened cousin, the shocked armorer, and the fighting king. She couldn't be everywhere at the same time. Actually she couldn't do anything, after all she was just a little girl, she hadn't even reached the age of fifteen and looked even younger. She was weak and tiny and was never good enough in her grandfather's eyes. Rowena thought of none of this when she raised her arm. She thought neither of her external flaws nor of her weaknesses as she pointed at the dead man. She thought of nothing or anyone, only of the fact that she would do something to end this fight.

The dead man flinched and struggled to straighten up. His eyelids fluttered open and he grabbed his dropped sword. To Akeela's horrified groan, the corpse stood up and turned in Wisay's direction. He raised his sword and ran over to him. Akeela and the dwarf beside him screamed so horrified that everyone was beginning to focus on what was happening. At last when the sword of the dead man thundered with a loud crunch on the sword of one of the humans circling Wisay, everyone turned their heads to him. The dead man didn't flinch at a punch in the face from the man he had attacked and in turn struck his stomach with the hilt of the sword. He went to the ground gasping and the dead man turned to the others, whom he drove away from Wisay one after the other in a similar way.

Finally the fight was over. Humans and dwarfs alike stood around perplexed and stared at the dead man, who, like a puppet with mechanical movements and without any emotion, quickly turned off Wisay's opponent and then stopped. Everyone noticed the wound in his chest and it was clear to them that something was wrong. Someone shouted something to the dead man, but he only slowly sagged. His knees bend deeper and deeper, the more Rowena lowered her arm with her outstretched index finger that was still pointed at him. A murmur and horrified exclamations went through the bystanders. "She's a necromancer.", Wisay muttered in amazement while staring at Rowena, who was now walking to her cousin.


	12. Wisay thanks

"It's a disaster!", shouted Richard angrily. He paced up and down Cassandra's solar, gesturing wildly as he spoke. “It wasn't enough that there was magic in this brat that is to become my successor. She must also be capable of necromancy. Necromancy! And where does she show that?! Perhaps with a dead bird or surrounded by the family? No, it has to be in an international celebration with a guard who had a day off! In front of everyone! By now, the whole town probably knows what kind of monstrosity my heiress is, and then the whole country will soon know. And not just ours. The dwarves will never forget that!”, Richard scolded. He couldn't calm down at all. 

"What did you think ?!", he yelled at Rowena and stopped in front of her. Rowena stood completely rigid and looked at the floor. "I just wanted to end the fight.", she said softly. Richard pushed her aside and marched towards the door. “Stupid brat! Stupid stupid brat! I shall now go to Wisay and try to convince him that the future queen did not spring from hell. Pray it will work, necromancer!”, he shouted. No sooner had he thrown the door open than he stood across from a servant who was about to knock. "What?!", Richard snapped at him. The servant winced. "King Wisay requests an audience...", he explained. "I'm coming.", said Richard, but the servant looked past him. "...with Her Highness Princess Rowena.", he finished his sentence. There was silence for a moment. Rowena got up and ran out of the room. She was in the throne room faster than the rest of her family who followed her. 

Almost all of the visiting dwarves had gathered in the throne room. Wisay stood directly in front of the steps to the throne, behind him his three sons. He was holding a small box in his hand which he nervously tapped on with his index finger. When Rowena entered the hall, Wisay went down on one knee. Rowena stopped in surprise and watched all the other dwarves get down on one knee as well. "Your Highness.", Wisay began, "I want to thank you." Rowena walked slowly towards him and stopped in front of Wisay. Behind her, her family spread out around the throne and watched in amazement as Wisay got up and took Rowena's hand. “You defended me against your own people. You have used your ability to protect my life. I do not know how long it has been since you knew about your gift yourself, but it cannot be long and you cannot yet have experience in dealing with it. All the greater is your merit to me, for you have risked unsuccessfully showing yourself as a necromancer in front of everyone. I know that you will not be looked at better because of it, quite the contrary. Nevertheless you saved me with it.", Wisay explained. 

He put the little box in Rowena's hand. “If I had known that I would need something to show my gratitude, I would have forged something more beautiful before I left home. Please take this as a present.”, he said. Rowena opened the box and found a pair of silver earrings, each with a pearl-shaped emerald worked into it. An honest smile, bright and wide enough to show her fangs, spread across Rowena's face. "Thank you, Your Majesty.", she said flustered. Wisay smiled too and placed his hand on Rowena's shoulder. "If the gods should one day give me a daughter, I will name her after you.", he announced. The next moment, his smile widened as Rowena hugged him.


	13. school

Wisay was the only one who thanked Rowena. Apart from the dwarves, no one was pleased with the skill Rowena had shown, necromancy. From now on, Rowena was shunned more by her peers and the adults also avoided her more than usual. Rowena didn't understand why they could have so much more dislike for her, for something she couldn't help. It wasn't her fault, after all, that she was born a necromancer. But nobody seemed to care. People preferred to be influenced by the brightly colored newspapers in which the incident was described than to be in Rowena's presence. 

When the dwarves left the castle, both Rowena and Ligeia were very dejected. Rowena because she now had to be without at least a few people who didn't avoid her and Ligeia because she had made friends with Isaya and would miss him. The two had decided to write letters to each other and hugged each other goodbye. As soon as the dwarves were gone, Richard called Rowena to him. He sat in the small council room with Lord Meadow and Lady Eskar, his favoured councilors. Gwen was there too, pacing back and forth as Richard normally did. 

"You wanted to see me?", Rowena said. Internaly she wondered what she would be accused of this time. "It's about your schooling.", Richard explained. Gwen stopped. "One would think we could find a rational governess somewhere, but no.”, he said angrily. Rowena looked questioningly back and forth between him and the others. Gwen motioned for her to sit down and did the same. “Miss Shepherd doesn't want to teach you any more. From now on she only cares for Ligeia like she did before you came here.”, Gwen explained. "And we can't find a replacement.", added Lord Meadow. 

Rowena sighed and rubbed her temples. “What will happen to my lessons then? I haven't had much of yet. I can't have none now.", she said. "My suggestion would be Evermore School.", said Lady Eskar. Rowena looked up and gave her a questioning look. Richard let out air and stood up. He went to the window and leaned one hand on the window frame. “This school is unworthy of an heir to the throne. But what choice do we have? You will go there.", he said and looked out the window. Lady Eskar turned her head in Rowena's direction and fiddled with the loop on the handle of her visual aid. “Evermore is a school for rich and noble students. It is not far from the castle in the city. And it is impossible for them to turn down a princess as a student.", she explained. 

Evermore School was in an old mansion, that had once belonged to a family of counts, on the outskirts. It was a venerable, large building with a garden and a small tower. The students there came from the high-born class of the city. It was decided that Rowena would have morning classes there. At noon she would come back to the castle and in the afternoon Sir Akeela would teach her the basics of sword fighting. Rowena could enroll in a handful of subjects of her choice at the school, then she would be attending them there soon. She chose dance, handicrafts, drawing classes, Eastern language, history, culture, math, and a volunteer course on magical theory. A few days later she had her first class at Evermore School.


	14. Evermore

Lucretia Evermore was now the thirteenth headmistress from the Evermore family who had the school of the same name. She was a venerable lady in her late fifties who strictly but fairly kept the reins in hand and carefully attended to every task. Lucretia Evermore's life was calm and steady, and she valued both calm and steadiness. One fine autumn day, Rowena Hollow walked into Lucretia's office and, for the moment at least, put an end to both the calm and the steadiness. 

Lucretia gulped hard when she saw the girl. In her friendly, bright office she appeared like a black hole that was in such a contrast with the colors around her that Lucretia took off her glasses so as not to have to see it so clearly. Rowena Hollow wore black from top to bottom. Her long hair was black too, and her pale face was snow white. Only her eyes, one green and one gray, showed that Rowena hadn't come from a black and white photo. Rowena had a few papers with her that she handed to the headmistress. As she did so their fingers brushed and Lucretia shuddered at the coldness of Rowena's skin. 

She looked through the papers, drumming her fingers on the table. Lucretia felt uncomfortable under the piercing gaze of the girl sitting across from her. Rowena didn't seem to notice that she hardly blinked. Her gaze was like a stitch in the neck. Lucretia couldn't ignore it no matter how hard she tried. At last Lucretia was finished and could send the girl, the princess, the heir to the throne, whom she had been looking forward to because she would be an ornament for her school, which was attended only by students of much lower rank, out of the office. Lucretia only noticed that she was doing this too early when, instead of getting up and leaving, Rowena asked about her schedule. Lucretia gave it to her and a plan of the building too and was amazed at her own forgetfulness. It must be because of this irritating girl, Lucretia Evermore told herself. 

Rowena finally left the office with a brief thank you. Lucretia took a deep breath, smelled roses, and wondered again. She put her glasses back on and scolded herself. She really should have been more polite just now. After all, this girl would become queen. And besides, she was a young half-orphan, a little kindness wouldn't hurt the quiet child. But Lucretia felt a little guilty about these thoughts. She knew deep down that she wouldn't have thought like this if Rowena hadn't been away. Lucretia hastily shook off these thoughts. Now Rowena was at school and was going to get her first day of school behind herself and in a few hours she would have forgotten that she had even been in the headmistress' office. And Lucretia herself should continue to work, she told herself, and went straight to her papers. 

The first of the teachers who visited Lucretia Evermore was Miss Miller, the dance teacher. She was still wearing tight pants and a tutu from ballet class that she had just had and she looked a bit confused. "This new student...", she began hesitantly. "The honorable princess.", said Lucretia, giving Miss Miller a stern look over her glasses. “The honorable princess is... endowed with impressive eyes. I could to swear she could see right through me if she wanted to. But she doesn't. Instead, she looks straight at me. I have seldom felt like this. And her physical abilities are... well, they're impressive too. She is really very flexible and durable.”, said Miss Miller. Lucretia eyed her critically. “Well, that's good for the princess. Are you coming to tell me that?”, she asked. Miss Miller blushed slightly. She apologized and left the office. 

The next to come to Lucretia was Mister Dorcas, the foreign language teacher with whom Rowena was to learn the Eastern language. He was a somewhat short, balding man who was so eager for nothing as for languages. “The princess seems talented. She has very good pronunciation and can pick up the words quickly.”, he said. "Then why are you coming to me? Is there a problem?”, Lucretia wanted to know. “Well, not really, but I was wondering if the princess might have any health problems. The color of her face... And the way she looks at you as if her eyes weren't normal.", Mister Dorcas explained. "As far as I know, she is perfectly healthy.", Lucretia replied. She explained the same to the culture teacher and the handicrafts teacher, who both came to Lucretia with similar concern and amazement shortly after they had their first lesson with Rowena Hollow. Of all the teachers Rowena had on her first day, the only one who did not come to Lucretia was the art teacher Thomas Courtney.


	15. Thomas Courtney

Thomas Courtney searched his bag with a quiet swear. He just couldn't find his glasses. They were also nowhere to be seen on the table or on the floor. He must have forgotten them at home. Thomas sighed in frustration. Usually he never forgot anything, but today he had almost overslept and got dressed in a hurry. Now he had to teach a class of students he couldn't see clearly. The students spread out around the art room with their easels and drawing pads and sat in their usual places. Thomas let his gaze wander. He could recognize every student by the color of their hair and face. He went through the list of twelve students and found that there were thirteen students present. 

He looked up in surprise. Near the door on a previously unused seat sat something that looked to Thomas, like a black life-size doll with a white face. He narrowed his eyes to see the doll better. A green and a gray stain looked at him from the doll's face. Suddenly she moved. She nodded to him in greeting. He nodded back and looked back at his list. Now he noticed the comment on it. From today on he had a new student in his class. Thomas ticked the edge of the list and straightened up. As always, he began his class with a few sentences about an art era. Then he presented the students with a plate of fruit on a stool for everyone to draw. 

Thomas was relieved to find that he could teach without his glasses. The students just looked blurry, but that wasn't a problem. He walked slowly among the students, answering questions or giving advice. He had a hard time seeing how good the drawings were, but by leaning a little closer it was possible. After a while he went to the new student. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that she didn't notice him at first. "How are you?", he asked. She looked up confused and saw Thomas next to her. Up close, Thomas noticed that she had long black hair and a very pale face. What he had first noticed as stains were her eyes. She still looked blurry, but Thomas could see the features of her face at least halfway. The eyes were noticable as if they were two lamps. "How is the drawing going, I mean.", he added. The girl took one look at her picture. "Well I think.", she said softly. It sounded more like a question. Thomas looked at her picture and squeezed his eyes close. He could see in the outlines the fruit she was supposed to draw. "I think so too.", he said. He gave her a smile, then moved on. 

After the lesson the new student stayed where she was a moment longer. Thomas, who was already packing his things, looked up at her. “The lesson is over. You can leave. Or do you need something else?”, he said. He couldn't see the expression on her face, only that she blinked. "No, it's ... everything is fine.", she replied, turning on her heel and leaving. A few minutes later, the Headmistress Miss Lucretia Evermore came into the empty classroom. She stepped up to Thomas and eyed him carefully. "Are you okay?", she asked. "Of course.", replied Thomas, in a good mood but a bit surprised. Lucretia adjusted her glasses. “Well every other teacher she has had today was irritated. But you get along with the princess?”, she asked. Thomas cocked his head in confusion. “Why shouldn't I get along with her? She's a little quiet, but that's not a problem. Otherwise she seemed normal to me.", he explained. Inwardly, he hit his forehead. He had completely forgotten that the new student was a princess. Lucretia blinked, confused herself now, and slowly nodded. "Well, if you think so. All right.", she muttered and left. 

Thomas took his bag and left the classroom too. He made his way home. To do this, he initially went in the wrong direction, but he had decided to take a detour. He went through the Evermore School garden and through the main iron gate, crossed the street, walked a little farther, and then turned into an archway. The archway was part of a wall that closed around a cemetery. Thomas liked this cemetery. It looked like a park. The trees looked beautiful, colourful as they were and a number of leaves lay on the ground. They rustled as Thomas walked through the rows of graves. Finally Thomas had reached the grave that was his destination. He wiped the leaves off of the headstone with his hand and ran his fingertips over the engraved name of Patricia Courtney. He knelt in front of the grave and rummaged in his bag for the bouquet of flowers he had stowed there. Not only did he find that, but his glasses too. Sighing, he put them on and placed the flowers on the grave. 

He tugged a bit at the leaves of the lavender that was growing on the grave and was just thinking that maybe he should water it. His eyes wandered to the tree behind the grave and he noticed a movement in the shadow. Thomas got up and wiped the dust and leaves off his coat. He looked back at the tree and adjusted his glasses. Now he could recognize her, the new student, the princess. She stood behind the tree, hands on the trunk and peered out from behind. "Hi there. Are you here to visit someone?”, Thomas asked kindly and gave her a small smile. She came out from behind the tree and stepped up to him. Thomas' smile slowly faded and gave way to a confused expression. Somehow it seemed like something was wrong with her eyes. The princess had such a penetrating look as Thomas had never seen before. She stared straight at him and pointed to the grave in front of which he stood. "Is that your mother?", she asked. Thomas nodded. He studied the girl closely. She looked so fragile and small in the long black coat. She stepped out from behind the tombstone and next to Thomas, her eyes fixed on the grave. 

"My mother is dead too," she said, bending down to run her fingers through the lavender. "I'm sorry about that.", said Thomas. She looked up at him in surprise, as if no one had ever said anything like this to her before. "Is she buried here?”, Thomas asked. The princess shook her head. “I'm only here because I still have some time before my carriage picks me up. I like cemeteries. Only people who don't judge me stay there.", she explained. Thomas nodded as a sign that he understood, even though he didn't really understand. She looked up at him questioningly, as if she were expecting something from him. Thomas wondered if he should say anything else. "Isn't that the case at your home?", he asked. The next moment he bit his tongue. This question struck him as a bit rude. The princess bowed her head and took a few steps. 

"I do not meet the expectations that people have of me.", she said after a short pause. “But that's not a problem. I mean, if someone has expectations of you, then that's that person's problem, not yours.”, Thomas replied without hesitation. The princess widened her eyes in disbelief. Thomas pointed to the tombstone. “My mother always told me that I should never base my worth on what other people think of me. It is important that you are satisfied with yourself. She always said to me, I have no reason not to be proud of myself. And that also applies to you, I think.", he explained. The princess stared at him as if he had explained the world to her. "No reason...", she muttered. Thomas smiled, took a step towards her and put a hand on her shoulder. It seemed to be good for her, so he repeated his words. "You have no reason not to be proud of yourself.", he said and for the first time he saw the princess smile.


End file.
